How to Turn Your Artistic Hobby Into a Full-Time Living

Artist Matt Tommey says in order to transition from doing art as a hobby into doing it as a job, artists have to ensure they’ve mastered their craft—sub-par art won’t cut it.

“I spent 15 years doing my baskets just as a hobby, but what was that doing?” Tommey says. “It was building a skill; it was building a unique voice. And by the time I was ready to actually take it into part-time and then full-time business, I had done the work. But that is really important. You can’t just skip by that.”

It’s equally important for artists to ensure they have a marketing strategy so that they can build a network of clients, Tommey says on the Thriving Christian Artist podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network.

“[You need] a business and a marketing engine that is working to help you not only get clients, but also identify clients on a regular basis, through your social media, through your website, through email marketing, through doing launches, through teaching and interviews,” Tommey says. “[Otherwise,] you’re not going to have what you need to actually step from where you are now just as a hobbyist into what you want to do as part-time or full-time artists.”

For more tips on monetizing artistic hobbies, click here for the entire episode.